so you want your students to produce digital video: some practical guidance

Dr Chris WillmottDept of Biochemistry,

University of Leicester cjrw2@le.ac.uk

So you want your students to produce

digital videos? - some practical

guidance -

SLTC09, Heriot-Watt, June 2009

University ofLeicester

THE University of the Year 2008

Dr Chris CaneDept of Genetics,University of Leicester crc@le.ac.uk

Introduction: why video?

• Video = engaging media (not new, not rocket science)

• The YouTube phenomenon

• Opportunities for creativity

• Prices

• Ease of editing

• Attractive alternative to essays and/or questionnaires

Outline of session

• Example uses: Two recent projects at Leicester

• A chance to have a go at filming or editing

• Feedback, Q&A

• Some practical advice (including some learnt the hard way!)

Example 1: Student experience project• As shown by Paul Green presentation yesterday

• Students issued with a video camera to record video diaries

• Submit weekly video (and take part in 3-4 focus groups)

• Not an assessed activity, entirely a research project

• Students keep camera at end of project

Example 2: Bioethics videos

• Second year Medical Biochemistry students (n=30)

• Produce 2 to 5 minute film on science and ethics of a current development in biomedicine (assigned)

• Allocated to teams of 4 or 5

• Given approximately 6 weeks to complete

• Marking:70% for accuracy and clarity

30% for creativity and production

• Peer-weighting applied after team mark awarded

Example video clips (1)

Use of animals in research (2009)

Example video clips (2)

Xenotransplantation (2008)

Example video clips (3)

Transhumanism & Genetic Enhancement (2008)

Example video clip (4)

Gene therapy (2009)

Example video clips (5a)

Cognitive Enhancement (2009, part 1)

Example video clips (5b)

Cognitive Enhancement (2009, part 2)

Example video clips (6)

Use of Human Tissue (2008)

Interaction: time to give it a try

Activity 1: Shoot some scenes for a short

educational film (various cameras available)

Activity 2: Edit some pre-recorded footage using Windows Movie Maker

Comments, feedback, questions

Issues we could

discuss

Copyright, ethical

approval, etc

Formation of teams and topics

Choice of cameras: what

and why?

More examples of student

films

What software

?

What training are students

offered?

Scepticism from Colleagues/Stude

nts

Allocation of individual marks for

team activityOther ideas?

Equipment: which cameras?

• Choice of camera depends on several factors inc.

- budget- type of project- DV tape v storage card?

• For video diary portability and ease of data exchange key (hand in one SD card, issued new)

• Sound quality is vital, especially for ‘content driven’ project, external microphone jack essential

• Only brand with mike jack on entry level models is Canon (e.g. Canon MD205, approx £200)

Equipment: which cameras?

• Video diary:

- portability

- ease of data exchange (hand in one SD card, issued new)

- e.g. Panasonic SDR-S7 (and newer models)

Equipment: which cameras?

• Bioethics videos:

- ‘content-driven’ sound quality = vital

- external microphone jack essential

- Only brand with mike jack on entry level models is Canon (e.g. MD205, approx £200)

Training

• Clips:- example film from YouTube etc (not all

good) Patrick Dixon

(http://tinyurl.com/ndg77w) Common Craft

(http://tinyurl.com/yvdezp) Josh & Adam (http://tinyurl.com/nevag4)

- previous student films

• Recommended websites

• Discussion of roles within project

• Indicative milestones

• Briefing sheet

Training: online advice and tutorials • Fourdocs (http://tinyurl.com/FourDocs)

• BBC Good Shooting (http://tinyurl.com/GoodShoot)

• Mashable (http://tinyurl.com/MashableMix)

• Videomaker (http://www.videomaker.com)

Issues: colleagues perception?

• “How can you say anything meaningful in a four minute film? Better to set an essay”

• You can say a lot in four minutes

• Evidence students actually need good grasp of the issues to decide what to include

Issues: copyright and permissions• Assessment v Wider usage?

- limited use of copyrighted images and/or sound allowed for assessed activities but not

wider distribution

• Encouraged to be copyright-free

• Informed Written Consent from interviewees to allow use on the internet

Teamwork – allocation of teams

• Bioethics film production > individual task

• Pre-activity questionnaire inc prior experience qn

• Semester 1 scores in biochem module

• Friendship groups? (seats in lecture #1?)

• Allocation of weak students? - distributed?

- form one group?

Teamwork – allocation of marks

• Each team awarded a mark for their project (70% content, 30% production & creativity)

• Peer-generated weighting then applied to mark to produce mark for each team member

• Conway et al (1993) Peer assessment of an individual’s contribution to a group project Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 18:45-56

• Details available on request

Equipment: storage & distribution• Will student/team be issued with camera for duration of project or will they be signed in/out?

• If signed in/out where will they be stored and how will this be administered?

• Security? Damage? Insurance?

• Penalty for late return of kit?

Alternative ideas

• Full-blown video too complex/too expensive?

• Combine audio soundtrack with still photos= form of “digital storytelling”

University of

Leicester

Weighting students’ contributions

• Each student awards a mark of 1 to 5 to each member of their team (inc themselves) for a number of different criteria• Average mark (= A):

Grand total (all scores for all students in team)Number of student in team

• Individual student total (= B):Sum of all that student’s scores awarded by

all team members (inc themselves) • Weighting for individual student:

Individual total (B) Average mark (A)